Small Details: Floors

 Art by Inken Moran

This is a series of posts I've done in the past where I take an feature of a dungeon and create a random table.

Doors

Strange Bottles

Stairs

Today's offerings are floors. Packed earth, rough stone, cobblestones, mucus membrane of an otherworldly being, floors are not limited. A short table that adds a few interesting ideas to inspire your next encounter. I don't provide answers for the strangeness. Run with it. 

1. Thick, wooden planks have fresh scars, as if someone drug something/someone across the floor.
2. The soft dirt floor grabs at the adventurers feet. Each step causes a rippling effects as if it were thick water. The dirt moves and settles as several dozen bones of various sizes surface all around the room. 
3. The rough stone floor gives away to precise cut stones organized into a spiraling pattern. The center stone has an inset handle. It takes two turns to ‘unscrew’ the center stone. The stone is hollow, within the hollow section is a large, brass, double-pronged key with dwarven runes etched into the shaft. 
4. There is a section of the wooden floor that is a different color. If tapped or walked upon, it is hollow beneath. If the boards are removed an ancient well is revealed. Once the well is exposed the area turns cold and frost forms on everything and everyone in the area. From the depths, a horrific rumbling roar erupts.
5. The floor is made from ancient brown, skulls. Walking is difficult. Running impossible. When the skulls are stepped upon some crumble and collapse. Beneath the layer of skulls is another layer skulls.
6. The floor's surface has a yellow viscus-like consistency. Footing is slippery. When light source is brought close to the floor it has a foggy transparency. Dark snake shaped things move beneath the floor. 
7. There is a hole in the middle of the floor as if something erupted out of the ground. A sickly sweet acidic smell is nauseating. A frothy green liquid slides out from the damaged area of the floor.
8. The floor is made of small metal slivers. If a spellcaster enters the room, the metal slivers vibrate, and mover towards the spellcaster.
9. A fine, white sand makes up the floor. It has series of perfectly formed ripples. In the far corner, the sand is disturbed, and dark green grit spoils the sand. 
10. Black glass floor is nearly impossible to walk upon. It is friction-less. It slants slightly so anyone who steps upon the floor is immediately swept down to the other side of the room. 

That's all for this entry of Small Detail. Please add your own entry in the comments. 

Thanks for reading.

Small Details: Stairs

Stairs are a simple form of transportation. In dungeons, stairs often mean a transition. In many dungeons  the deeper you go the more terrifying and deadly the adventure. Along with the promise of great treasure. Many heated discussions were held around the gaming table whether to to take the stairs. Was it too soon? How healthy was the party. Resource considerations. A transition of geography and philosophy.

Steps are a common feature in dungeons. While most of the time they are denoted by a series of shortening parallel lines, I like to slip in a detail of two to tell the story of that location. Or throw in a simple trap to keep the party on their toes even when encountering a simple feature.

1. One of the steps is missing. In fact, doesn’t look like one ever existed. Rushing up or down the stairs could cause an injury.

2. The steps in this set of stairs are slanted slightly down, as if running water had worn them down. Because of this the stairs are very smooth.

3. The stairs are covered in a white limestone. Each step has a coat-of-arms engraved into the limestone. The handrail on the right side is polished wood held in place by brass brackets secured to the wall.

4. The stairs are made of brittle wood. The stairs tremble and make loud cracking noises when stepped upon. If the steps collapse, a skeleton is found, a hammer in its hand, nails scattered on the floor around him.

5. The stairs are covered with an oily substance. There bottom step is a false step. Anyone who steps on it the step falls, there is flint attached to the step, there is a 3 in 6 chance that it sparks and ignites the oil on the stairs.

6. The stairs have large handrails running up both sides. The wood is scarred and discolored. From the fourth to the tenth stairs is a black scorch mark. At the bottom are decorative posts, if the right one is twisted the middle section of the stairs (4th to the 10th stair) rise to reveal a hidden area.

7. At the top of the stairs there is a simple illusion of more steps. The lead person falls into a pit. At the bottom of the pit are planks with iron spikes driven through to cause further damage.

8. Lit candles sit on the right side of every step. Wax pools at the base of each candle. They extinguish if someone steps on the step they are on. In one day they relight. If removed, they are normal candles. 

9. A horrific scene, the stairs are made of a mix of bone, flesh and sinew. Sections of the stairs move, and as it does it creates a wet, sliding slime slurping noise.

10. A very narrow set of stairs, a person will need to climb sideways, spirals. Anyone in heavy armor cannot pass through. They’ll need to remove their armor to pass. At the top of the stairs foot stone with “Eleanor” engraved into the stone. If the stone is removed there is a urn filled with ashes. Within the ashes is a simple gold necklace with a ruby pendent. 

Small Details: 10 Strange Bottles

This is the first time I've posted using my phone. Hoping it works. Here are 10 strange bottles that might be found while adventuring.

1. A simple a clay bottle that has unseen cracks around the outside. When liquid is poured into it within a day all the contents will have leaked out.

2. Thick glass tinted blue makes up this fat bottomed bottle. The cork is attached by a wire. There is a trace of liquid at the bottom. A left over potion of flying. It'll cause the imbiber to shoot up in the air 10' then fall. GM should determine if damage should be rewarded.

3. A broken bottle lays on the ground. If a magic-user puts his hand near it the bottle will reform. It looks to have been carved from a single piece of crystal. If the mage becomes separated from the bottle, it'll shatter at nightfall.

4. A bottle hovers in mid air. It looks to be made of crude glass with something inside. The bottle isn't magic but it is a trap. The bottle sits on a wood pole with dozens of spikes and rusted blades waiting to render flesh. This pole was turned invisible. Anyone who tries to grab the bottle will be impaled. At that time, the pole appears. The bottle has rain water inside.

5. A wine bottle looks intact. It sits in a small basket. The seal is broken but the cork is in place. The seal is of a local winery. It is half full. Oh, and it's laced with centipede poison.

6. A two tiered bottle. It is tinted green glass. There is a light colored liquid in the top and a dark liquid in the bottom. In the middle is a button. If the button is pushed, the liquids mix and a bright light shines in all directions. It remains cool to the touch. This lasts for one hour then goes dark. The bottle is valuable on it's own.

7. The bottle appears to sweat blood. Red droplets form on the surface, trickle down the sides and pool around the bottom.

8. A crude clay bottle with a moon seal on the front is nestled into a crevice. This bottle comes from the fey. If the gift is excepted, the PC gets a visit from the fey while he sleeps demanding a favor.

9. A bone bottle, yellowed with age. It has an inscription running in a single line at the base.

10. Rare red glass bottle. It's stopper is a cut ruby. An alchemy tool used to create enhanced potions.

Hope you find use for these bottles.

Small Details: 10 Door Details to Distract the Party

Sometimes the small details are what attracts the party's attention. Often distracting them from the adventure you had planned for the evening. The first details are what one might find on dungeon doors, inn doors, maybe even trap doors. These ten details could mean something, or not a damn thing. Only the first one has any details, but they could just be hinges with fancy designs. 

1.  The brass hinges of the door are tarnished so they take on the same coloring as the wood door. On closer inspection they have intricate designs. A magic-user has a chance of identifying the patterns. These hinges work as spell storage. So as a magic-user can enchant the door. In most instances it is a trap, so when the next person opens the door the spell is discharged. These hinges hold one spell at a time. They can be removed, but for them to work all three of them have to placed on the same door. 

2.  There is a small door in the door, that mimics the bigger door perfectly. 

3.  There are small holes at the base of the door, they are stained darker than the rest of the door. There is an oily substance in and around the holes.

4.  Hanging on a small iron ring is a goat's foot. It looks to be fashioned as a door knocker.

5.  The door is painted a bright blue in color except for a small hand print in the center.

6.  Two, rusted iron spikes are stuck between the door and the wall. An obvious attempt to keep the door closes. The door has large cracks in it, exposing the interior of the door, but it did not give as something powerful smashed into it.

7.  Words are carved into the door. It is difficult to decipher. The carving looks fairly new. And at the bottom of the words is the number 4.

8.  The door contains  inset, black iron detailing. It curves around onto itself and then spirals out and around. The detailing is quite good.

9.  There is a spiderweb detailing around the door frame. 

10.  The handle of the door is fashioned out of a keg tap.